PSEB Programs

Counseling Center

PSEB’s counseling services are available for fresh IT graduates, startups and young entrepreneurs. PSEB officers can guide and mentor you on varied subjects such as queries related to company setup, business planning, team composition, competitive analysis, optimal positioning of your product/service offerings, social media marketing, international marketing, business financing and exports reporting. You may contact by email, phone or visit PSEB offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi:

Setting up a Company

Depending upon your business structure and scalability/expansion requirements, you may setup a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Single Member Company (SMC) or a Private Limited Company. It is recommended that you should consult a Chartered Accountant or a corporate lawyer to determine the company structure that best suits your business, who can also facilitate your company registration with concerned authorities.

'Sole Proprietorship' is a type of business entity which is owned and run by an individual and there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business. Accordingly, profits and losses accrue to the sole owner. All assets of the business are owned by the owner and all debts of the business are owner's debts and must be paid from personal resources. Hence, the owner has unlimited liability. You can contact Federal Board of Revenue directly or through your lawyer/accountant to register company's name against your individual National Tax Number (NTN), where your individual NTN certificate will also mention the name of the company.

'Partnership' is a type of business entity in which profits and losses accrue to the partners (owners). Partnerships may have small to mid sized business set-ups. A partnership may be registered with the Registrar of Firms in your area/region, where the office of the firm is situated or proposed to be situated.

'Single Member Company (SMC)' is a class of private company, limited by shares which is incorporated with one member, or whose membership is reduced to one person. Some of the advantages of forming SMC are that SMC has a separate legal entity from its member and as such liability of the member is limited to the amount of his investment. For more information on SMC and how to register with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), please visit http://www.secp.gov.pk/CLD/cld_guides.asp

'Private Limited Company' is a limited liability company, whereby the members/directors of the company cannot be held personally liable for the company’s debts or liabilities. As such, the company enjoys a separate and independent legal entity than its directors and is regarded by the law as a person. For more information on incorporation and how to register with SECP, please visit http://www.secp.gov.pk/CLD/cld_guides.asp

Registering with PSEB

IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) companies operating in Pakistan are encouraged to register with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in order to avail the following benefits and incentives:

Tax exemption on exports of IT services (currently till June 2019 but expected to be extended further)

Repatriation of profits (currently 100% repatriation of profits is permissible)

Voice traffic legalized for PSEB registered call centers

Credibility with foreign customers and investors in the international market

Subsidized participation in International exhibitions and roadshows

Subsidized participation in local exhibitions attended by foreign customers and investors

Marketing of IT industry through PSEB sponsored IT portal

Subsidized International company certifications such as CMMI and ISO

Subsidized professional trainings for the management and technical staff of IT companies to be live shortly

Fully paid Internships of ICT graduates in the IT industry (more than half have been are hired by the IT industry)

Free workshops on business planning for member companies

Inbound and outbound visa facilitation of customers, investors, and company employees

Quality bandwidth services at much competitive rates.

Any call center not registered with PSEB is considered to be operating illegally and is subject to legal proceedings by the PTA and FIA.

For the complete procedure of PSEB registration and to download the registration form, please click on the relevant link given below:

PSEB Initiatives for IT Startups

PSEB has been actively promoting entrepreneurship and guiding IT Startups in the country. This year, PSEB is arranging series of free workshops in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to mentor and train IT startups and young entrepreneurs on how to prepare a successful business plan, how to raise funds and how to market/sell products and services.

PSEB has also established a 24/7 counseling center to provide counseling services to fresh IT graduates, startups and young entrepreneurs. PSEB officers are available to guide and mentor you on varied subjects such as queries related to company setup, business planning, team composition, competitive analysis, optimal positioning of your product/service offerings, social media marketing, international marketing, business financing and exports reporting. You may contact any time by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and phone (+92 42 111 333 666) or visit PSEB offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi during working hours ( 9am – 5 pm PST ).

Guidelines for Freelancers

Freelancers from Pakistan are the virtual expatriates earning valuable foreign exchange for the country and deserve to be supported and nurtured to achieve their true potential. Pakistan is ranked 3rd in the world in terms of number of freelancers registered on popular online freelance markets. However, the number of freelancers earning decent livelihood by freelancing is low. Many factors contribute to not being able to capitalize on your skills/expertise. For instance, your profile on the freelance market may not be properly reflecting your skills/expertise, or you may be bidding for the wrong projects that do not match your skill set, or your proposals do not focus on the customer's needs and highlight your suitability for the job at hand.

PSEB can provide you guidance and counseling on improving your earning potential, as well as, provide you trainings to sharpen your skills and provide you internship opportunities in the IT industry to gain experience. In order to avail services of PSEB, you are requested to first register by visiting http://www.pseb.org.pk/pseb-programs/facilitation/freelancers-registration.html and then email your queries/needs to PSEB's counseling center at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit PSEB offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi during working hours (9am–5pm PST).

Guidelines for Interns

Pakistan Software Export Board in collaboration with National ICT R&D Fund has launched a new internship program titled “Prime Minister’s ICT Internship Program”. Through this program, PSEB will place 3,000 ICT graduates with 16 or 18 years academic degrees who aim to develop a career in the ICT Industry. The goals of the project are multiple and these includes;

Meet industry needs for recent graduates with relevant and latest training in most demanded areas as determined by the industry.

To give an opportunity to the graduates of the country and make them contributing members of the ICT Industry & IT departments of public and private sector organizations.

This will be accomplished through a 06 month internship at ICT Industry & IT departments of public and private sector organizations.

Key PSEB Contacts:

For any direct queries or escalation of issue related to international marketing, registration and domestic facilitation, office space, bandwidth, company/professional certifications and trainings, you may contact head of the relevant department::